JD Edwards, chairman, president & CEO, Bob Dutkowsky, has spoken out against Oracle’s proposed takeover of PeopleSoft, a move that could well derail JDE’s merger with PeopleSoft.

JD Edwards, chairman, president & CEO, Bob Dutkowsky, has spoken out against Oracle’s proposed takeover of PeopleSoft, a move that could well derail JDE’s merger with PeopleSoft. In a conference call yesterday, he said that the while a joint JDE/PeopleSoft would deliver greater shareholder value and improved customer service levels, Oracle’s acquisition of PeopleSoft would create unassailable antitrust issues.

“Together, we [JD Edwards and PeopleSoft] will be able to offer strong products, on more hardware and software platforms in more countries, with more services and better support than any of our competitors. We believe that this merger is a perfect match between to extraordinary and highly complimentary companies,” said Dutkowsky

“On the other hand, I believe an Oracle acquisition of PeopleSoft raises such serious antitrust problems that it will take months of investigation both from the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and the European Commission. Oracle’s financially motivated manoeuvre is risky and I believe that there is a high likelihood that one or both agencies may end up blocking the transaction,” he continued.

In addition to impacting the competitive landscape, Dutkowsky argued that by taking over PeopleSoft, Oracle would limit customer choice and force users to switch to its 11i offering.

“Oracle’s hostile tender offer will eliminate at least one of Oracle’s major competitors in several market spaces to the obvious detriment of customers… This elimination of a competitor, its product and its ongoing development would reduce customer choice and product support,” he explained.

“I believe Oracle’s attempted takeover of PeopleSoft raises serious questions about their commitment to customer choice. By contrast, we believe the merger of JD Edwards with PeopleSoft increases the choices for customer globally, providing them with a broad array of software and services with a company that has their best interest at heart,” he added.